For the tenth consecutive year, Planned Parenthood has come to city government asking for a handout from the taxpayers of this fine city. This time, they are requesting $5000 to provide colposcopies to their clients. On the surface, this seems like a fine program: providing health care services to women who may not be able to afford it is certainly a good thing. But I implore you, once again, to reject Planned Parenthood's request for corporate welfare.

As you know, Planned Parenthood's clinic on South College Avenue does more than provide simple health services: it also serves as a place where unborn children are killed every week. Many of your constituents strenuously object to being forced to subsidize a clinic that performs abortions. I urge you to respect the views of pro-life citizens of Bloomington and reject this needlessly divisive subsidy. There is no reason the colposcopies cannot be offered through a women's health facility that does not perform abortions.

Most importantly, though, is that Planned Parenthood simply does not need the subsidy they are requesting from you. Planned Parenthood of Indiana's website has a news release from January announcing it had raised over $7.2 million for the "Tapestry of Strength" campaign, and PPIN's recent "Gathering of Goddesses and Gods" raised over $200,000. Even more amazing, though, is that, nationally, Planned Parenthood is overflowing with cash.

According to Planned Parenthood's own annual report, the national office had $104.1 million in revenue and only $66.4 million in expenses, resulting in an incredible profit of $37.7 million. Overall, Planned Parenthood and all of its affiliates brought in over one billion dollars in revenue in the most recent fiscal year, with an organization-wide profit of $114 million. Clearly, there is more than enough money floating around the Planned Parenthood organization to give the Bloomington clinic all the funding it needs.

So why is Planned Parenthood requesting yet another handout from city government?

The reason for this request is clear: Planned Parenthood is seeking a political endorsement from city government. This cynical and selfish request makes a mockery out of the John Hopkins social services fund and is a slap in the face to all of the social service organizations that actually need the funding they request from you. For Planned Parenthood, providing services to those in need takes second place to gaining a political victory.

Councilors, it is time to put an end to these cynical political games by Planned Parenthood by emphatically rejecting their request for corporate welfare. Every dime you give to an organization that needs no help from city government is a dime that could go somewhere else. It also shows a serious lack of stewardship for the tax dollars you have been elected to allocate. It is long past time to let the state and national organizations fund the local Planned Parenthood, while the scarce Jack Hopkins funds can go to social service organizations that actually need it.